The Rangers have acquired 33-year old righty reliever Mike Adams from the Padres for 20-year old lefty starting pitcher Robbie Erlin and 21-year old righty starting pitcher Joe Wieland. Adams pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the Padres this year and he was 3-1 with 1 save, a 1.13 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. He has only given up 26 hits while whiffing 49 batters in his first 48 innings this year which is impressive. The fact that he’s only walked 9 batters this year is also impressive. Adams has now pitched in 270 games (0 starts) in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 11-9 with 2 saves, a 2.11 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP!

Adams didn’t come cheap though. Robbie Erlin came into this season as the Rangers’ #4 prospect according to Baseball America. He pitched in 20 games (19 starts) in A+AA-ball this year for the Rangers and he was 8-4 with a 3.34 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Joe Wieland was the Rangers’ #22 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. Wieland pitched in 21 games (20 starts) in A+AA-ball for the Rangers this year and he was 10-3 with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. They are both impressive prospects.

The cost was high for Mike Adams. But the Rangers paid the price just like in the deal for Koji Uehara. Uehara and Adams will team with Neftali Feliz to really lock down the end of games for the Rangers. For that reason, I like this deal for them.

The Rangers have acquired 36-year old righty reliever Koji Uehara and $2 million bucks for 25-year old righty starting pitcher Tommy Hunter and 25-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Chris Davis. Uehara pitched in 43 games (0 starts) for the Orioles this year and he is 1-1 with a 1.72 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP. He has only given up 25 hits and walked 8 batters in 47 innings this year while whiffing 62 batters, as he has been dominating. Uehara has pitched in 98 games (12 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 4-7 with 13 saves, a 3.03 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Uehara will likely be the set-up man for the Rangers but he could also put Neftali Feliz for his closer’s job down the road.

Tommy Hunter pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Rangers this year and he was 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Hunter pitched in 53 games (44 starts) in his four years with the Rangers and he was 23-13 with a 4.36 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Chris Davis played in 25 games for the Rangers this year and he was 19 for 76 (.250 avg, .704 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers and 6 RBIs. Davis played in 266 games in his four years with the Rangers and he was 219 for 882 (.248 avg) with 115 runs scored, 42 homers, 124 RBIs, 4 stolen bases and an amazing 302 whiffs.

The Rangers certainly paid top dollar for Uehara, but they have their eyes on not just getting back to the World Series, but winning it this year. This was a move in that direction.

The Rangers have placed 27-year old righty swinging outfielder Craig Gentry on the 7-day disabled list due to a concussion. Gentry has played in 39 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 22 for 83 (.265 avg, .673 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 0 homers, 7 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. The Rangers have called up 27-year old righty swinging catcher Taylor Teagarden to replace Gentry on the active roster. Teagarden has played in 9 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 7 for 26 (.269 avg, .668 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. The Rangers hope that Gentry gets back in action soon as they really value his speed and defense.

The Rangers have signed 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Val Majewski to a minor league deal. Majewski played in 113 games in Independent Ball and AA-ball last year and he was 118 for 421 (.280 avg, .790 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 11 homers, 80 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. His lone major league experience came back in 2004 with the Orioles. He played in 9 games for the Orioles in 2004 and he was 2 for 13 (.154 avg, .385 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers and 1 RBI. The Rangers could call up Majewski when rosters expand on September 1st, if he gets off to a good start.

The Rangers are going to be on the hunt for an outfielder (preferably a CF), a backup infielder and a righty reliever before next Sunday’s trade deadline. Taylor Teagarden, Chris Davis, Craig Gentry, Julio Borbon and Arthur Rhodes give the Rangers major league ready ammo to get deals done. Hunter Pence and Ryan Ludwick are likely on the Rangers’ radar with the idea of moving Josh Hamilton back to CF. I don’t think that’s they way the Rangers really want to go though. B.J. Upton, Melky Cabrera, Coco Crisp, Marlon Byrd, David DeJesus and Angel Pagan would allow Hamilton to stay in LF, as they are the best CF’s available this week. The Rangers also were interested in Carlos Beltran but he wants to stay in the National League. The Rangers are looking at guys like Jamey Carroll, Aaron Miles, Blake DeWitt , Mike Aviles and Angel Sanchez to help out the bench. Frank Francisco, Octavio Dotel, Jon Rauch, Jason Frasor, Koji Uehara, Grant Balfour, Kerry Wood and Matt Lindstrom are the kind of righty relievers the Rangers want to trade for. They are looking for a legit set-up man type that could close when Neftali Feliz needs a break. I think the Rangers are going to be a much better team on August 1st than they are right now and that should be scary to the rest of the American League going forward.

The Rangers have signed 29-year old righty reliever Merkin Valdez to a minor league deal. Valdez pitched in 38 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Dodgers earlier this year and he was 4-2 with 4 saves, a 3.58 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2010 for the Blue Jays. Valdez has now pitched in 69 games (1 start) in his first four years in the majors and he is 3-1 with a 5.53 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. He is a longshot to pitch for the Rangers in 2011.

The Rangers have placed 32-year old righty swinging 3B Adrian Beltre on the 15-day disabled list due to a hamstring strain. Beltre has played in 100 games this year for the Rangers and he is 107 for 388 (.276 avg, .823 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 20 homers and 76 RBIs. The Rangers have called up 25-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B/OF Chris Davis to replace Beltre on the active roster. Davis played in 21 games earlier this year for the Rangers and he was 14 for 52 (.269 avg, .814 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers and 4 RBIs. Davis has also played in 48 games in AAA-ball for the Rangers this year and he is 71 for 193 (.368 avg, 1.229 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 24 homers, 66 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Michael Young will also get some playing time at 3B but Chris Davis will likely start somewhere for the Rangers all of this week as they want to showcase him before the trade deadline next Sunday.

The Rangers took a $3 million dollar gamble on 32-year old righty starting pitcher Brandon Webb and all they got for their money was four starts in AA-ball. Webb will undergo righty shoulder surgery next week which will end his 2011 season. Webb pitched in 4 games (all starts) in AA-ball for the Rangers this year and he was 0-2 with a 9.75 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. Webb has pitched in 199 games (198 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 87-62 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. The Rangers were naive to think that Webb was going to give them a productive year in 2011.

31-year old righty starting pitcher Colby Lewis is proving that last season was not a fluke. Lewis pitched in 32 games (all starts) for the Rangers last year and he was 12-13 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He also pitched really good in the playoffs and the World Series. This was all new to Lewis as he was awful before coming back to Texas from Japan. He must have learned how to pitch in the Far East. Lewis has started 19 games for the Rangers so far this year and he is 9-7 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Lewis has only given up 111 hits in 121 2/3 innings so far this year but 23 of them have been homers. He has limited the damage though by only walking 35 batters while whiffing 104 so far this year. The Rangers need Lewis to cut down on the homers a little bit the rest of the way.

The Rangers have designated 24-year old lefty reliever Zach Phillips for assignment. Phillips pitched in 33 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Rangers this year and he was 1-3 with 3 saves, a 4.43 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. If Phillips clears waivers and will accept an outright assignment to AAA, the Rangers would love to keep him.

UPDATE: (7/19/2011) – The Rangers have dealt Phillips to the Orioles for 32-year old righty swinging infielder Nick Green and cash considerations. Green played in 87 games in AAA-ball for the Orioles this year and he was 64 for 308 (.208 avg, .633 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 10 homers, 44 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He has played in 393 games in parts of six years in the majors and he is 237 for 1,000 (.237 avg, .653 OPS) with 142 runs scored, 16 homers, 96 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. The Rangers were smart to get something for Zach Phillips because he wasn’t going to clear waivers.